


Sentiments

by Call_Me_Bob



Category: Naruto
Genre: Ino thinks they're both stupid, M/M, Naruto tries his best because he's a little in love and needs some help realizing it, Secret Santa, Shikamaru is sentimental, and Ino is the girl for the job, but she loves them, sorry I don't make the rules - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:07:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28048971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Call_Me_Bob/pseuds/Call_Me_Bob
Summary: In playing Secret Santa, Naruto asks for Ino's help and she's more than willing to on one condition; they finally stop mooning over each other and get together already!
Relationships: Nara Shikamaru/Uzumaki Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto & Yamanaka Ino
Comments: 12
Kudos: 163
Collections: Naruto Fanfics, ShikaNaru Weekend 2020





	Sentiments

**Author's Note:**

> I chose Free Day for this one. I'm not too upset with this one, though I'm not sure I made Naruto's feelings obvious enough. Oh well!
> 
> Also, B, if you're reading this, how dare you? I saw you like the other one. Stop it. You're not allowed to read my stuff >:(

For as long as she has known him, Ino had believed him to have terrible taste. But, perhaps just this once, she would be willing to let that opinion slide. Just a little.

They were doing a secret gift exchange for some Christmas fun this year. Names were drawn and gift ideas were thought up. Ino had drawn Lee who wasn’t her first pick, but at least it would be easy to shop for him. His loudness came in handy, as it turns out.

On the other hand, Naruto had drawn a tough one. Even she would have some difficulty shopping for Shikamaru despite how close they were. Which is why he came to her, seeking help on purchasing a good gift even if it was technically against the rules for him to tell her who he got. She wasn’t making it easy on him, though. There was no way she was just going to tell him what to get.

Instead, she offered up opinions. Which is how they found themselves going from one store to the next, Ino giving her honest feedback on each thing he pulled out and showed to her. They went from trinket shops to clothing boutiques to a bookstore. Though Naruto had grabbed a couple of things Ino had let him know she was fairly certain Shikamaru would like well enough, he didn’t seem satisfied. And it was driving him up the walls, apparently.

Perched on the chair in the most recent store, Ino filed her nails idly, waiting for Naruto to finish looking over what the shelves displayed. She didn’t even know what kind of store this was. Honestly, it seemed like a “whatever the hell we have on hand is what gets put up” kind of place. Yeah, he was that desperate at this point.

She wouldn’t be lying if she said it looked like he was about to pull his hair out at any given moment.

Of all the members of their friend group, Shikamaru was probably one of the hardest people to shop for. Neji and Shino were his only contenders in that market and even then she would have argued they would be easier. Naruto had really drawn the short straw on this one. But he was trying so hard to find him a good present that she kind of wondered at his motivations. Oh sure, he would have tried to find something the person he drew would like no matter who it was, but this was going above and beyond. It was likely he wasn’t even aware of the reason he was trying so hard except that perhaps he just really cared. And she had an idea for the real reason and was going to make him recognize why he was going to such lengths because she couldn’t stand the pining any longer.

Glancing to her side, Ino watched as Naruto slumped onto the bench next to her. He looked upset and, with a sigh, she shifted to look at him better.

“Alright, why all the trouble?” She asked, lifting her eyebrows imperiously.

“Because!” He started with gusto before deflating. “Because he’s my friend and he’s been there for me for a long time, even back at the Academy, and I just… really want to do something nice for him, you know?”

Ino hummed in a somewhat detached interest even if she was listening intently to every word he said. After a moment of looking Naruto over, she finally put her file away and stood. That wasn’t the answer she was looking for, though she wasn’t surprised that was what he said. Maybe a bit of truth would get him to see what was happening.

“I’m going to be honest, Naruto. _I_ would be having a hard time if I were in your shoes. He’s not an easy person to shop for at all, not even for his parents. He just…doesn’t want a whole lot. And anything he does want he’s not going to tell anyone about, preferring to just get it for himself later.” She stared at him, noting the tense shoulders. “Do you remember that day early on when we were still going to the Academy and the weather was bad so we got to do arts and crafts instead of our usual training?”

The sudden turn in their conversation had Naruto craning his head to look at her, a confused squint to his eyes. “Yeah?”

“Do you remember what you made?”

“A really bad picture, I’m sure.”

“It was a bracelet made of string and a few beads,” Ino corrected.

Sitting up straight, he looked at her dubiously. “How do you remember that?”

“Because you gave it to Shikamaru and he still has it sitting on his dresser.”

Eyes wide, Naruto stared at her in awe, not quite believing what he was hearing. She could almost see something click in his head. And, yeah, she was going to drop the ball a bit here, but damn it, if she had to watch these two dance around each other any longer then she was going to rip _her_ hair out.

Smiling softly, she patted his shoulder. “Shopping for him isn’t easy, but Shikamaru keeps every gift he’s given because he’s a sentimental idiot like that and I’m willing to bet no matter what you give him, whether you buy it or make it or just do something nice for him, he’s going to love it because he’s that kind of person. And you’re that kind of special to him.”

She left him sitting there to think over her words.

\----------------------------------------------

When they met up to exchange their gifts a couple of weeks later, leaving the presents with only the name of the person who was to receive it all piled together on the table, it was a loud affair. It was always loud with them, though. After all, with friends like Lee, Kiba, and Naruto there was no other option.

Eventually they settled down and began opening their presents. Ino was delighted with the blanket she pulled out of her box, running her fingers over the material before throwing it over her shoulders and snuggling into it. It was in her favorite shade of purple!

Everyone seemed to be having fun and enjoying the gifts when she looked over to Shikamaru and could physically feel her own expression soften at the sight. He was holding a simple bracelet, obviously handmade, that looked remarkably like one he had received years ago. It was better made than the original and was big enough it could actually fit over Shikamaru’s hand again and he was staring at it with a small smile on his face.

Later on, she would spot the two of them speaking in quiet tones outside on the patio of the Akimichi house and she would turn away, leaving them to their moment as Naruto carefully clasped the bracelet on Shikamaru’s wrist.

He had terrible taste usually but, Ino supposed, just this once, she was willing to let Shikamaru slide on that. His taste in guys wasn’t as bad as she originally thought, after all.


End file.
